During a press conference after the 0-0 draw match between Brazil and Mexico on Tuesday in Fortaleza, Brazilian national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari did not get much love from the media present in the event who had been firing careful but nonetheless stinging questions about the Latin American country's chances to snag the World Cup championship.
Along with the controversial call that had Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura awarded a penalty kick to Brazil, Scolari appeared to be riled up about the questions being brought up during the press conference, the Guardian said.
Fronting up to everybody who have attended the press conference, he said, "OK, so there are no more penalties for Brazil, right? That's my question for you. All you did was criticize Fred ... So I hope you're pleased with yourselves. Well done."
Scolari then scuttled towards the door.
Mexico clearly had the upper hand when its hero of the match, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, managed to block all attempts by Brazil, including those from crowd favorite Neymar, to score and secure a victory. The British paper said that Brazil's performance in this year;s World Cup so far appeared to have been hinged on Neymar, who has been instrumental to its victory against Croatia in last week's tournament opener, of which the latter has bitterly contested due to a supposed dubious call involving Fred. In Brazil's game against Mexico, Fred was reportedly being himself, Oscar was peripheral, Ramires got himself booked, became a liability and was substituted. Neymar, with supporting players Bernard and Dani Alves, managed to help the team at least not get lost against bitter rival Mexico.
Nonetheless, Scolari has disagreed with this line of thinking and said, "Neymar cannot win or lose on his own. He is part of a group. In the group, he has a potential which is higher sometimes than other players, as we know. All the players, by the way, know that. But he is part of a group. He can win or lose with the group."
If a YouTube video about a Brazilian team member practicing his flop with Scolari is to be believed, Scolari's team may might as well be more Fred at one point of its most crucial matches to increase their chances of winning the World Cup.
